Press mat for oil presses



C. H. FULSON.

PRESS MAT FOR OIL PRESSES.

ArPucAnoN men mums, 1921.

1 ,414 693. Patented May 2, 1922.

'libflbtowmf imrrso STATES PATENT QFFICE.

CHARLES HIRAM FULSON, OE TREN'ION, ASSIGNOR TO THE AMERICAN COTTON OIL COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OLE NEW JERSEY.

rnns s MAT FOR- OIL rnnssns.

Application filed April 23, 1921. Serial No. 463,926.

To all ililmmii' may cont-mm:

30 it known that 1, CHARLES H. l n'nson, residing at Trenton, in the county of Gibson, State of 'lennesseahave inventedcertain new and. useful. Improvements in Press Mats for Oil Presses; and I do hereby dcclarc the following to be a fulh clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in. the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to improvements in. oil presses, and more particularly to im provements in compression boxes or press mats for use in such oil presses. i

In hydraulic presses forthe pressingof oil from cottonseed, etc, press mats or plates are commonly provided, of a construction intended to promote the drainage of oil during the pressing operations The drainage channels in such mats or plates tend to become clogged, after a certain period of use,

and the satisfactory pressing of the oil is interfered with.

The present lllYGlltlOn provides an 11nproved construction of press mat which can be easily and readily cleared in case of clogging, which is slmple in construction and operation, which provides for the free drziinage of 011 from the press cake, which causes a minimum'of wear and strain upon the press cloth, andwhich enables the capacity of the presses to be materially increased by the use of press cakes of increased thickness.

The invention will be further described in connection with the accompanying drawings showing the preferred embodiment thereof.

In the accompanying drawings;

Fig. 1 is an end view of two sections of an oil press embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a side view of part of one of the sections; and i Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail view showing one of the grooves and bars.

In Fig. 1 the upper section of the press is shown with the bars removed from the longitudinal grooves, while the lower section of the press shows the bars in part in end elevation and in part in cross section.

It will be understood that the oil press is a hydraulic press, such as is commonly used in pressing oil from cdttonseed, and that the different sections are supported and arranged in the usual way.

The sections illustrated are made up of the base plate 1, having depending side Specification of Letters Patent. 7

somewhat narrower than the grooves in pressing operation.

Patented May 2, 1922.

flanges or members 2 forming the sides of the different compartments of the press. Supported by these base plates are the press mats which are made up of the base member 3, having longitudinal grooves 4t therein spacedapart at intervals and longitudinal. bars 5 arranged in these grooves, with their upper surfaces even with the upper surface of the base members 3. These bars 5 are which they are arranged, and they have longitudinal channels 6 in their sides forming oilchannels for the escape of oil. during the The bars 5 may be slightly narrower at their top than at their bottom, as'illustrated .in Fig. 3, so that they will, be spaced away from the sides of the grooves at their tops to provide narrow longitudinal slots leading to the longitudinal oil channels 6. The arrangement is such that two slots are provided by each bar, one on each side, so that there are twice as many slots and longitudinal channels as there are grooves 4 and bars therein.

The bars 5 are turned at their ends, as illustrated at 7 in Fig. 2. These turned ends limit the endwise movement of the bars in the grooves and facilitate the raising. of the bars for clearingthe slots and channels as they become clogged. By grasping the end of each bar by hand or by a tool, the operator can readily raise the bar from the slot and clear the grooves l from obstruction. In case the mere raising of the bar does not suiiice for this purpose, the bar may be drawn lengthwise for its entire length and. then replaced. Instead of raising these bars by hand, a tool may be used which will raise the ends of the entire series of bars of any one press mat at the same time. In case a 95 commonly used in oil presses; but the ar 100 rangement of the bars therein in the manner above described, makes the press mat as a whole one of improved construction. The thickness of the mat is reduced by the omission of any plates or projections on top of 105 the base member, so that the thickness of the mat is that of the base member itself. The cake space in the press is correspondingly increased, thus materially increasing the size of the cake which can be introduced and cor- 110 respondingly increasing the capacity of the press without any other change therein than the change in the construction of the press mats.

The individual grooves 4 and bars therein are entirely independent of each other, so that the individual bars may be removed and replaced independently of each other.

The ease with which the improved mats of the present invention can be cleared "from obstruction enables the press boxes to be kept in regular and constant operation without interruption for the clearing operations.

lVhere the base members a do not have a widtl'requal to the distance between the side members 2, the corners of the members may be removed and sections or side pieces 8 secured thereto by screws or otherwise.

It will be noted that the bars 5 are not tastened in place in the grooves, so that they are readily removable for clearing obstructions, while they are nevertheless properly spaced in the grooves longitudinally by means of the bend ends 7.

The improved press mats oi the present invention may be used in presses oi" common construction, in place of the press boxes com monly used. So also, press mats now in use, if they are provided with longitudinal grooves, may be converted into the improved press mats ot the present invention by placing in the longitudinal grooves bars of appropriate length and cross section, to give a construction similar to that above described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

The increased facility with which the press mat of the present invention can be kept cleared of obstruction, enables the loss of oil, due to such obstruction, to be reduced, with corresponding increase in the oil production of the press.

I claim:

1. A press mat for oil presses made up of a base member with longitudinal groovesand bars in said grooves having their upper surfaces even with the upper surfaces of the base member, said bars being spaced away from the sides of the grooves to provide longitudinal slots and channels for the escape of the oil.

2. A press mat for oil presses comprising a base member having longitudinal grooves of substantially rectangular section and bars in said grooves having their upper surfaces even with the upper surface of the base member, said bars having longitudinal grooves in their sides and being narrower than the grooves at their upper edges to provide slots leading to said longitudinal channels.

3. A press mat for oil presses comprising a base member having longitudinal channels and bars in said channels forming there with longitudinal passages for the escape of. oil, said bars having projecting ends by means of which they may be removed from the grooves to permit clearing of the oil channels from obstructions.

at. A press mat for oil presses comprising a base member having longitudinal grooves therein, bars in said grooves having longitudinal recesses in their sides forming longitudinal oil passages, said bars being narrower than the grooves at their upper edges to provide slots communicating with the oil passages, and said bars being provided with projections at their ends by means 01 which the bars may be raised for clearing the oil channels from obstructions and by means of which the bars may be longitudinally positioned in the slots.

In testimony whereof I aifix my signature.

CHARLES HIRAM FULSON. 

